The beautiful daughter of Kamal Haasan and Sarika, Akshara Haasan has quite a responsibility resting on her shoulders. With an envious debut in R Balki’s Shamitabh; she shares screen space with Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush. Managing the massive egos of the two in the film is no mean task, something that Akshara does with effortless ease. Balki says, “I think Akshara will be one of the major performers in the year to come. She is very natural and has a fresh approach to acting. She’s beautiful and is gifted with all the qualities of an actor. Her instinctive and spontaneous performance will win her many hearts.”

All Rounder – Athiya Shetty

Suniel Shetty’s daughter, Athiya Shetty was kept away from the media glare for a long time after the announcement of her film debut opposite Sooraj Pancholi in the remake of Hero. Athiya will be seen reprising the role of Radha from the original film. Reportedly, Athiya was supposed to make her debut opposite Tiger Shroff in Heropanti. Armed with a degree in Filmmaking and Liberal Arts from the New York Film Academy, Athiya is all set to give shape to her dreams. With her arresting features and dancing skills, here’s one debutante who according to casting director Mukesh Chhabra, “Will be one of the top three debutants of the year.”

Carrying the legacy forward – Harshvardhan Kapoor

It was only a matter of time, before Anil Kapoor’s good looking son followed in his father’s footsteps. After completing a course in cinematography and screenplay writing, Harshvardhan Kapoor has assisted Anurag Kashyap on Bombay Velvet before facing the camera for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirziya. Essaying the role of Mirza in the folklore of Mirza and Sahiban, Harshvardhan prepped for his role by attending acting workshops conducted by special instructors besides learning horse riding. Casting director Mukesh Chhabra who
had conducted workshops with him opines, “Harshvardhan is very focused and he will do wonders. He will also be among the top three debutants of the year.” Extremely fond of his sisters, Sonam and Rhea, the loving brother has inked their names on his shoulder too.

In her father’s footsteps – Narmmadaa

All eyes turned to her when actor Govinda’s daughter, Narmmadaa made her first public appearance when she accompanied Salman Khan to the IIFA Awards, 2007. Soon, talks about her impending Bollywood debut began to make the rounds. Waiting for the dream project to come her way—several movies were being contemplated—the young lass decided to invest her time in pursuing her hobbies. Narmmadaa took off to London to complete a course in gemology, fashion designing and makeup. She has also done a course in acting at the London Film Institute and Kishore Namit Kapoor Institute before finally zeroing in on Second Hand Husband that sees her sharing screen space with Dharmedra and Punjabi heartthrob Gippy Grewal. A firm believer in numerology, the actor who was christened Narmada changed the spelling of her name to Narmmadaa to begin, what we believe would be an eventful innings in Bollywood.

A beautiful act – Pooja Hegde

The second runner-up at the Miss Universe India competition in 2010, Pooja Hegde has already made her mark in the Tamil and Telugu industry with films such as Mugamoodi and Oka Laila Kosam. Hegde, who has participated in various dance and fashion competitions in her college days and was also nominated for the best debut in Mugamoodi, has bagged a role opposite Hrithik Roshan in Ashutosh Gowariker’s period drama Mohenjo Daro. Prepping for her role in her debut Hindi film, the pretty actress has been training in various dance forms. Chhabra who was also keen to cast her for a film, says, “She is very pretty and comes from a film background, so she acts well, but needs to work on her Hindi.”

Poster girl – Saiyami Kher

Saiyami Kher’s foray into the glamour world was as a Kingfisher Swimsuit model, before she made her mark as an actress in the Telugu film industry with the critically appreciated film Rey. Making her Bollywood film debut this year, Kher will play Sahiban in director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirziya. Kher is the niece of actress Tanvi Azmi and daughter of yesteryear actress Usha Kiran. Mukesh Chhabra who had auditioned her for a role, believes that, “she is very understanding and has interesting looks.”

Hero Returns – Sooraj Pancholi

Sooraj Pancholi, son of Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, makes his debut in the remake of Hero. The young lad will reprise the role of Jackie Shroff from the original. Prepping for his role, Sooraj trained rigorously for the film and even borrowed Tiger Shroff’s trainer to achieve the perfect physique. According to Mukesh Chhabra who cast him for the film, “He is just fantastic. I have seen his action sequences, acting and dance moves. He will also be among the top three debutants of the year.” An avid movie enthusiast, Sooraj had also assisted Sanjay Leela Bhansali during the making of Guzaarish and Kabir Khan during the making of Ek Tha Tiger. Leaving a sordid past behind him when he was implicated in Jiah Khan’s suicide case, the young lad has now focussed his attention to carve a niche for himself
in the world of cinema, and with Salman Khan as his mentor, there should be no looking back for this young actor.